robert: president trump holds off on declaring a nl emergency at the border -- for now. i'm robert costa. welcomegt to "washinon week." president trump launches an all-out offensive touild a border wall, calling undocumented immigrants a security and humanitarian cris. president trump: they need a wall. if you don't have it, it's going to be nothing but hard work and grueling problems and by the way, and death. a lot of death. robert: u is prepared to executive authority, starting a legal debate even r on tht. president trump: the legal solution is for me to call a national emergency.o i could d that very quickly. i have the absolute right to do it. but ot going to do it so fast because thi is something congress should do. robert: democrats dig in and urge republicans to re-open the government. >> why are you rejecting it at

the eense of the health, safety and wellbeing of the american people? you take an oath to the constitution or an oath to donald trump? robert: we cover it allext. announcer: this is "shington week funding is provided by -- ist i was able to turn the aircraft around and the missionl around and to save two men's lives that night. >> my first jobe helped m to grow up pretty quickly. that happens when you're asked respond to coup. >> in 2001, i signed up for the air force. two days 9 later,1 happened. >> babb el, a language program that teaches language in a new

way. babbel's 10 to 15-minute lessons are available as an app or online. announcer: if youfunding is pviy koo and patricia yuen, through th yuen foundation. the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbsistrati viewers like you. thank. y once again, from washington, moderator robert costa. robert: good evening. theer 21-day gent shutdown, a standoff over president trump's demand for a border wall will become the longest in u.s. history at midnight friday and is week some of the 800,000 furloughed workers hel protests around the country, calling for the government to be reopened. nte presi meanwhile, visited the border thursday. hisitch, undocumente migrants have created a crisis and he's

ready to declare a national emergency. joining me tonight, philip rucker, white house bureau chief for "the washington post." nancy cordis for cbs news. yamiche alcindor of "pbs" newshond mark landler, white house correspondent forew the ork times." phil, you're fresh back from a trip with president trump to the border. you were the pool reporter. you've been talking to white hoe sources all week. there was expectation of a national emergency declaration yet the president held off on friday. what's going on? phil: it's interesting, bob. it seems like the psident can't decide whether to make the declaration which is a hail mar move. it's a risky move. it would help emper him with executive authority to build the wall without congressional approval but it would ignite a fire storm politically on capitol hill and certain court challenges in federal courts. tl week we saw officials t

make the case for an emergency situation and say that the situation at t border is of crisis proportions and american lives are at stake, lay a predicate for the foundation but the president said he's not ready to do it yet. robert: nancy, of course democrats, but republicans on capitol hill, are they warning the president against they go sort of action? that executive power in this way not something conservatives can support? nancy: some are sayg that. really republicans from across es, spectrum, some moder some deeply conservative, who say if you do this, if you declare a national emergency, you're opening the door for future presidents to declareie emerge that republicans might not want. what if the next president is a democrat and trey dec that gun violence is a national emergency or climate change is tional emergency. they say that's not why this whole system was created, and

you juston can'tol what happens down the road. on the other hand, you've got other republicans, like lindsey graham, saying, you know what, it's a last resort and we're at the last resort because itoo doesn't like there's any other way out of this standoff than for the president to save face by declaring a national emergency. so he and some others a encouraging the president to do it. robert: your point is history really matters. the national emergency act of s976 is what set the paramet for how a lot of this goes. if you look back, mark, you think about president truman in 1952, nationalizing the steel facties during the korean war, that created a big court battle. if the presideur dide this, what would the challenges be in the courts? would it go all the way to the supreme court like it did with tuman? manu: i think the assumption it would. president trump believes it would. he said he would expect a negative ruling in the famous ninth circuit, his bogey mou in

thes, that he would be challenged in the lower courts and probably held up and then i would work its way through the process and lead to this sort of epic showdown at the stroke but he feels confident that he's now named some justices to thatur that might be inclined to look broadly at executive privilege and prerogatives in brett kavanaugh and neil gorsuch so perhaps he figures it's a risk he's willing to take because h feels relatively good about the supreme court he would face. that said, it's an unpredictable process but fundamentally i think from the preofdent's point iew is do you want to the have a long legal battle that will allow youo reope the government and in essence remove this crisis from the day-to-day lives of 800,000 federal workers and into the slitly more rarefied precinct of the courts. that might be a good option not only for the president, it would takeome of the lawmakers off

the hook, as well. robert: let's think about what would happen if the president decled a national emergency. according to the "post," the administration is eyeing unused money in the army corps of engineers budget, particularly a disaster budget that was not spent for civil works project. yamiche, you've been tracking the fallout fromurricanes and the situation on the ground in texas and puerto rico. what would the outcry be if funds for disaster relief would be used for the boralr yamiche: you have republican senators on thena hill sng to the president publicly that they would fight the predent if he tried to do this. heco rubio tweeted today, if tries to do this, we will try to overturn it. senators cornyn i also from texas and has been clear. we're talking about $14 billiont as supposed to be used for

natural disasters and hurrine nds. the president today said that using a national emergency would be the easy way out this is someone who made his brand on being a deal maker so heants to be ablo say let's make this deal. nancy pelosi, chuck schumer, give me what i want and i'll give you what you want but at the end of the day it doesn't look like democrats want to give the president a wall. they're under their own political pressure. democrats came in in the wave election and people want them to stand firmin a president trump. >> john kirnan of texas -- cornyn o texas went with the president to the border but said don't takeca hur harvey funding, we need this to rebuild in texas. you've heard from several members of the texas republican delegation who say i am going to fight this. they argue that this is not just some sort of piggy bank you can dip into for your preferred project. this is money allocated f a

specific purpose and that's just not the way it works, that you can say, ion know this was set aside for the wildfires o hurricanes or even other army corps of engineers project but m using it for another purpose. robert: nancy had an exchange with president trump at the capitol this week aut the crisis, the administration calling it a crisis about the number of people trying to enter the country illegally. according to data, it's at a 20-year low. >> if illegal immigration at the border has gone down, why is it a crisis now?t presidump: you know why it's gone down? because of good management. people,of me and my because we've managed it well. nancy: why is it a crisis? president trump: we have more people coming up. you have caravans. robert: this was the pitch from the administration all week, that there is a crisis, humanitarian, secur that's what about? what's driving that message? the politiche base inoe arpaio?

g.o.p.? nancy: it seems clear they're trng to layhe groundwork for the president to declare a national emergency. in order to do that, that we -- he needs to say it's a well documented crisis at the border so the vice president came to capitol hill and spoke witre rters and said over and over again it's a security csis, humanitarian crisis. however, as you pointed out, the numbers are way down. and i obviously the walls something that the president has been calling for for years. so whether it's a crisis now, whether it was a crisis a few years ago, obviously democrats dispute the notion that things are getting worse, not better. phil: the other thing president trump is doing is using imagery and rhetoric to try to scare americans about the situationad situationad -- situation at the border. he painted a harrowing portrait

of death and danger at theki border, t about people beheaded and killed and murdered and dismembered and raped by illegal immigrants. at the border he didit a sec briefing and before him were huge stacks of bricks hfoin and methamphetamine and stack full of cash and gs, seized at ports of entry and the takeaway from the image and his words w we should be scared, there's something wrong at the border even though the data show that illegal crossings have gone down. robert: and the democrats aren't budging. he keeps making the argument but democrats aren't moving. is t pt because tsident doesn't have an out here? yamiche: i think it's because the president doesn't have an out. it could also be that the president has worked himself up and really does believe there's a crisis. my reporting shows apprehensions are down at the southern border and a there only six people apprehended in the first half of 2018 who were suspected

terrorists. 41 on the northern border in canada. we have a president saying there are terrorists flooding in through the southern border and it was six people. we have a president continuously using the facts as he wants to use them and sometimes meddling with the facts and spreading misinformation. robert: the president has been trying to clarify his campaign pledge that mexico would pay for the wall. president trump: when, during the campaign, i would sayoi mexico's to pay for it, obviously, i never said this and never meant there going to write out a check. i said they're going to pay for it. robert: mark, i have been following your reporting. you've been following the usmca, the new version of nasta, the trade deal. that hasn't even been ratified by congres b yet the president is declaring it the way to pay for the wall? manu: yeah and that has absolutely no relevance to the way he pitched ts during the

campaign and in the early days of his presidency. he said over and over again,il mexico pay for it. so even if the usmca, the mexico trade deal, were ratified, it wouldn't be legitimate for him to say that whatever economic benefit derived from that trade deal would be used to build the wall. it's a specious argumtht. the curious thing that happened this week was we b learneause he had an off-the-record session with network anchors that leaked out, that, in fact, the president himself has deep misgiving aboum theketing of his campaign. he didn't really want to do the televised address. he said the trip to texas was a photo-op and didn't understand the value ofndt he was pushed into it by his communications staff. and to me, thi suggests something else, which is that at some level i'm not sure the president believed he needed to market this.

i think he saw a it something that was the president's privilege. reflectink partly this what has been for him this process of trying to understand in dividedate government. i think he felt it was his prerogative to declare this. he'd been elected president on the this platform so forim the last few days has been an educational process in realizing i have to sell this. nancy: and we're getting evidence the marketing isn't work because cbs news has a poll that found more amerins believehere's no crisis, that there's a problem at the border but not necessarily a crisis and they're more apt to blame the president so his advisers realize that if he's goingoo g this route, he needs sell it. clearly he's reluctant becausedb the fk from his base is that he's in the right but when you look at the bigger picture, he's not winning the war of public opinion. robert: if you're a based voter, phil, the

president -- it's become the longest shutdown in u.s. history. he can say he went to the brink even if he doesn't declare national emergency. where does it go from here? does the president say i'veone all i could, let's reopen the government and i'll fight for the wall or does he fighth throhe state of the union in late january, into february? phil: the president, according to reports, feels he has to keep fighting, that if he were to give up now, even though it's a shutdown the longest in history as he's dug in his heels for the border wall funding, he would have failed.he ad two years of republican control in congress and could not secure the wall. he ran for president as the deal maker who would make this happen and convie mexico to pay for the wall, who would build it and protect everybody. that's why people are passionately behind him and he's not delivering. robert: phil had an exchange with the president durin his trip to texas. you asked the president about

the possie deal that's been floated, protecting dreamers, uncumented migrant children, in exchange for funding for the wall let's watch that if weave it. president trump: we could do that. we want to the help the dreamers. i was ready to help the dreamers and en we got a decision that the folks representing the eamers very strongly, which is us, also, if you want to know the truth. d they said we't have to do it anymore so now it's before the supreme court. we'll s what happen robert: we'll see what happens. phil, jared kushner, the president'shi son-in-law, p the deal with senator graham on capitol hill yet the president kills it himself, vice president pence on thursda goes the capitol, ends those discussions. why? phil: they're all over the map. the administration this week in terms of negotiating on i think that president trump would really like it have a morv comprehe he said that several times yesterday but he would love that to include t wall, it would have to include the wall, according to him. the trouble is, he has a

different message than the vice president who has a different message than people in the administration and they're makingds inconsistent dem so lawmakers on capitol hill don't know who to trust. robert: yamiche, federal workers throughout the this going through struggles of their own. thra airic controllers union on friday issued a lawsuit having to pay and work in these circumstances. at's happening inside t federal government friday, this weekend, that's going to maybe prod this whole situation forward in a negative or positive way? yamiche: people are feeling the strain of not having money. people are postponing surgeries, unable to move into apartments, being unable to sell homes because they don't know whether not they'll be able to get a paycheck. the other thing is, congress passed this bill that saidt some point federal workers will get back pay. many people in d.c. and other areas are private contractors who won't get back pay and will

be unable to make up this money. i talked to someeople who said calls to food banks are going up, federal workers areeaching out. local governments, especially in lowden county, their local government is giving $25,000 to food pantries because they expect federal workers to have to go 32 -- there for nutrition and this argument is about a wall that peoplen border cities don't think is necessary. i interviewed the mayor in texas who said i don't think a wall will fix our issues. drugs are smuggled in through legal portsf entries, in cars. he said a wall won't fix our problems here. nancy: we talk about a crisis and whether or not there at the border. there's no question that as this continues, there will be a crisis having to do with hundreds of thousands of federak s who aren't being paid. s&p said that by the end of this

week, the economy will have already lost more money than the president is seeking to build his wall and it just compounds every single doe this on and i think we're going to see more effects as the days continue. robert: what about majority leader mitch mcconnell,ark? he's been awol. manu: in a witness protection program. yeah, no, he's taken the view this is between the president and the democrats and have foresworn the role he took in prior shutdowns of being the guy eayou cut the with and i think that's probably a stance he can't afford much longer, particularly if the emergency declaration scenario is not onle the t so it takes everybody off the hook. if they ctinue to be dug in in this position, i think mitch mcconnell has to step forward but the interesng question is, does he step forward and start to speak political reality to the president. he might be one of the few

ouople in washington who do that. robert: are you seeing cracks in the g.o.p., pl, as this heads into its fourth week? phil: wsaw them emerge the middle of this week. we heard are senator gardener of colorado, senator collins from maine, republican senators who are in vulnerable positions coming into re-elections, start to say reon the government, let's get on with this. you saw possibilities of cracks amonca house repub, as well. for the most part, this week, rit, nancy, president tru and vice president pence kind of held it together. out it doesn't seem like that's going t last long and that dam could be breaking. robert: nancy, you've been covering congressman steve king of iowa who made casual comments in a "new yorkewimes" inter about white supremacy and white setionalism and republican leaders in the haid we don't associate with congressman king but weee issues of race

popping up as well as the shutdown drags on. it's messy. nancy: he's someone in the past they've treated like a crazy uncle and when he said racially charged things, they said, oh,ha wells steve. this time it was different and they called his comments offensive even though he said he wasisinterpreted and now you've even got party luminars saying they should support primary opponents of his so thai 't able to remain in the congress in the next term. yamiche: i was talking to protestors when president trump landed in texas and one man i talked to is 71 and neverbe protestere and he came because he said at the end of the day i see the wall as a racist political tool, as a fresident looking at people color, brown people, saying these people are not allowed to be here and i don't want this to be the future of america. and negotiations are so stalled because they cannot even agree on what the facts are.

i was at the white house when vi president pence and the president and the democratic leaders sat down. chuck schumer came out and said president trump got mad and slammed his hand on the table. vice president pence said i posed the queheion did president slam his hands on the table and he said, no, he was calm, handing out candy. so there's a complete disconnect. robes: we're dealing with t complete disconnect but there are so many other issues in the world that are happening, as this government shutdown unfolds. big story this week in syria, the u.s. policy there, is the u.s. truly removing a troops president trump says or is national security advis jn bolton correct in saying there will be caveats for removal of did we get anytime clarity, mark? manu: mark: it feels the theme is a muddle all around.

you had preside trump befor christmas appear to order an abrupt withdraopl of t which rattled everybody, precipitated the resignatif his defense secretary, jim mattis. then you had john lton go out to the region and present a very different message. we will withdraw in anrdly manner, there will be a time table, it will be gradual and oh, by the way we won't withdraw at all ithe turks don't agree not to attack our allies, the kurds. he got a vepy bad ron in turkey from president eltogan who e had a different understanding with president trump on the phone and now we're left withn unresolved picture where you had today the u.s. military issuing a fairly ano dine press release saying we're going to withdraw. the military was beginning to withdraw equipment but i thinkus the con around a simple

announcement by the u.s. army today gets at the bader confusion. we really don't know what the president wants. we don't know whether if the president has a phone call with president erdogan this weekend, things could shift again. there's just no clarity at on what is an issue that normally would be consuming washington but this week is buried under the shutdown.be : phil, when you think about that issue of clarity, you have a new acting chief otaff in nick mulvaney. who around the president will be the person to try to bring order, if anyone, in 2019? phil: the big question is will anyone around the president try to bring order? nick mulvaney stepped in to replace john kelly, but he's very much an accelerant for trump, encouraging his instincts and the political fight on the shdown. robert: we have to leave it there. this show goes too quickly. i thank everyon f being here on a friday night. our conversation continues on

the "washington week" podcast, discussing new developments in the russia probe. you can find it on our podcast app or watch it on the website. have a great weekend. thanks foroining us. announcer: corporate funding is provided by -- >> i was able to turn the aircraft around and the mission around and save two mens lives that night. >> my first job hped me to grow up quickly. that will happen when you're asked to respond to a coup. >> in001, i signed up for the air force. two days later, 9/11 happened.

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narrator: althorp house. family home of the late diana, princess of wales. an english manor house where kings and queens are frequent visitors. as once were the ancestors of us founding father and first president, george washingto george washington's family, before they left england, were connected with mine. the washingtons were frequent visitors here. t socially, they were gr friends of my family. narrator: e first time, this most elegant of england's homes throws open its doors... allowing us to share the upstairs and the downstairs. secrets of alt.rp, the spencers